Most of the English farmlands were still under the manorial system, which had gone through many changes since the days of the Feudal Lords when serfs were little more than slaves of the Manor. Though the days of the serfs were long past, there were still laws the Lord of the Manor held over the people of his Manor. No one could sell land or homes without the consent of the Lord and Lady of the Manor.

The tenant farmers were still bound to the Manor and could not leave without consent from the Lord. There was a time when they could not go out of the limits of the Manor without being fined or put in jail. Some of these restrictions were gradually eased or rescinded, but some remained. People could not build a cottage without license or consent from the Lord. The tenant farmers elected a Reeve who presented their complaints in a Manor Court. The Lord was usually represented by his Bailiff or Steward.

The land of the Manor was divided into four classes:

1. Land the Lord kept for family use.” He hired an Overseer to supervise this home farm.
2. Land leased or rented to his tenant farmers.
3. Land set aside for the tenant farmers to pasture a few head of cattle or sheep.
4. Land free of rent or lease; freemen could purchase a tenure of this land to hold under the Lord and Lady of the Manor.

A tenure was the length of time a person desired and could be handed down to the heirs of the family upon paying a death fee or giving a gift to the Lord and Lady of the Manor. Freemen usually inherited this privilege from one of their ancestors who had served the King as a Knight. They were called freemen, but they were still obligated to give service to the King in case of riots or invasion.